In the process of reporting for my Wednesday column in The Baltimore Sun, I learned about (and made a donation to) the Maryland Market Money program, designed to reward food stamp recipients for choosing to buy healthy, locally grown food at farmers markets.
My column is about Andy Harris, the state's generally awful Republican in Congress, and his push to forbid the use of SNAP benefits to purchase sugary beverages and unhealthy food. It's hard to argue against the facts — obesity, diabetes and heart disease are all related to bad diets, starting with sugar-sweetened soft drinks — but it's a national issue, and singling out low-income people who need help paying for groceries is discriminatory and stigmatizing. It's also doubtful that such a restriction will keep people from buying Coke and other high-sugar drinks.
If we want to regulate spending habits of SNAP recipients then it would be better to incentivize and reward them for buying healthier food instead of punishing them for buying bad stuff.
So that gets me to the Maryland Market Money program. This is how it works: Customers using SNAP/EBT benefits at one of 46 farmers markets and farm stands are eligible to receive a dollar-for-dollar match in Maryland Market Money currency (blue $1 tokens), up to $10 per household per market day. Maryland Market Money can then be spent on any SNAP-eligible food items at those locations.
The program gets private and public funds through the Farms and Food Access for a Resilient Maryland Foundation (FFARMd) and the Southern Maryland Agricultural Development Commission. The idea is to get produce and dairy products from Maryland farmers into the market bags of people who need federal help paying for food. "Most studies will show you that, if you give people more dollars, they buy healthier food because that's what they can afford to do," says Michael Wilson, director of Maryland Hunger Solutions.
Wednesday column: Andy Harris plays doctor to cut food stamps
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